Grosseto , Italy -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The captain of the Italian cruise liner Costa Concordia `` committed a tragic error , '' but his crew did their best to evacuate the ship 's 3,200 passengers , the last survivor found aboard said Wednesday .

Manrico Giampedroni , one of the ship 's officers , said he was on the darkened bridge with Capt. Francesco Schettino when the Concordia hit the rocks off the Mediterranean island of Giglio the night of January 13 . He broke a leg as the liner rolled and was found 36 hours later in a half-flooded dining room , suffering from hypothermia .

`` All of the members of the crew did their best . They made a good job , everybody , '' he told CNN before his release from the hospital . But , he said , Schettino `` committed a tragic error . Maybe he was too confident in his skills , and he relied too much on his knowledge of the ship . ''

At least 17 people died when the Concordia ran aground and settled sideways on the sea bottom off Giglio , with half of the vessel still sticking out of the shallow water . Another 15 remained unaccounted for more than two weeks after the accident .

Giampedroni was the ship 's purser , the officer in charge of passenger accommodations and food service . He also oversaw the evacuation that followed Concordia 's grounding .

Schettino had invited him to the bridge to watch as he steered the ship past Giglio in what the captain called `` a salute '' to the island town , Giampedroni told reporters on his way out of the hospital . About a half-dozen people were on the bridge , which was darkened for night operations .

He said he thought the ship was passing too close to the island , `` but the captain drives the ship . He knows very well where he should pass . ''

`` In this occasion , we can not say , ` Captain , we are too near the coast . ' We can not say that . In this case , it is best only to watch and nothing else . ''

Schettino has said that after the impact , he ran the ship aground to keep it from sinking and limit its list .

The captain is under house arrest on suspicion of manslaughter , causing a shipwreck and abandoning ship while passengers were still aboard . He denies the charges , saying his actions saved lives and dismissing prosecutors ' suggestions that he was going too fast .

Critics have also questioned whether Schettino waited too long to give the order to abandon ship . Giampedroni said that decision was up to the captain -- but once given , `` Everyone worked in the proper way . ''

`` Consider that the ship was leaning very fast , it was a little difficult for us to put the people in safe , on the life boats , '' he said . Most of the 3,000-plus passengers and the ship 's crew of about 1,000 made it safely off the ship in less than two hours , he said .

Giampedroni told CNN that he was hurt when he was heading back to the muster stations where passengers assembled to leave the ship .

`` Muster station A was completely evacuated , '' he said . `` I wanted to check if there was anyone left on muster station B . When I was going there , in the restaurant , I had the accident . The ship was tilted , and it was easy to lose orientation . ''

Giampedroni was half-submerged in the chilly water flooding the restaurant when found . He said he survived by sipping at a soft drink that he caught as it floated by , since the contents had not been contaminated with salt water .

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Manrico Giampedroni was on Concordia 's bridge when the ship ran aground

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He said he thought it was too close to shore , `` but the captain drives the ship ''

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Giampedroni was the last survivor found aboard the stricken cruise liner